Melody Island
by librarianofthebronx
Summary: Collection of HTTYD/Hiccstrid song-fics. Requests are OPEN
1. Coming Up Roses

" _You were right all along, but it's me who's got to change"_

 **\- Coming Up Roses**

I stood up from the bed, unable to comprehend my emotions that were weighing me down, trying to drown me back into the soft, comforting messy bed. I gazed back at the pictures on my desk and saw myself, smiling and full of gleam with the girl I loved—once loved. I sighed at how silly I was to keep that picture of us, perfectly framed and cleaned to its very edges when I know it's been over for years now. I have kept it on one of my old college books and since then, it was there and forgotten, but when my mom came around and urged me to clear up my old junk in the closet, I found the picture and decided to frame it.

It was all sweet and right that time and I wanted nothing more than to be with her—laughing, chatting, goofing around and "geeking" about. Then again, it ended in the most cliché ways as possible—I had to leave. I left because of my job. I was a pilot, some sort of traveller and I was only back in Norway about once a year. I mostly travel and transport passengers on America and Asia and being away from home were like hell for me. I miss my family, my friends (and her, apparently, even though we ended it) but every once in a while, when spotting the chance, I meet up with them and catch up.

She wasn't mostly present because of her work. She was a writer, a photojournalist to be exact and she was always away out on her own adventures also. I do wish that sometimes we cross paths on the airport and she'd ride the airplane I was operating—you know, just to give the thrills but, somehow she'd be travelling on other airlines and never once mine, which was a pity. I never really know how to say it, but we never had a proper closure at all. Well yes, we had broken up about 3 years ago but, it was never really clear to us if we had disclosed our feelings—I know, I haven't yet since I still love her so.

I gazed out on my window, taking in the familiar sight of the neighbouring apartment and at the same time, I could hear the usual dilemma of the neighbours' ballistic yelling. Apparently, Mr. Ack has been caught cheating once again and Mrs. Ack wouldn't let him live to see another female ever again—at least, that was what I deduced from the screaming and thrashing. It was rather a small apartment but good enough to live for one. I rented an apartment as close to the airport as possible so I wouldn't hassle myself to drive to work.

Having enough of the neighbours, I decided to take a quick shower and a walk outside. I needed to jog up my muscles so I could stay fit. The thing about being a pilot is that, you always have to be watchful and alert of the skies, and sometimes, I couldn't leave my cabin to even just use the lavatory. The last time I was called up while using the lavatory was when there was a sudden storm and the plane couldn't get through well across the thick array of clouds.

As I put on my sweater, I looked up on the view and saw the most surprising view possible. There she was, standing behind the window, opening up the curtains. Judging by her messy hair, it looks like she had just woken up. Her hair was strikingly longer than the last time I saw her and her turquoise highlights just fitted her style. I gazed at her intently, taking notice of the other features that changed from the last time and one that made the impression is how sexier she's gotten. I couldn't move, not with her still gazing on the window with a cup in her hands. It seems as though she never got rid of the habit of drinking coffee every morning but it was okay, she needed it.

"Holy…" I stuttered.

She finally puts the cup down by the windowpane and pulled her camera, taking a few shots of the sky and smiling to herself as she browsed them. I was quick to pull out my phone from the desk and took a picture of her without having her to notice me as possible. I viewed them and chuckled lowly to myself, finally having a glimpse of her years after we had broken up.

I never wanted to leave again, I just wanted to stay here and admire her from a distance. It might sound creepy but I can't help being such a stalker—even though we're only a few good meters living apart by chance, I wouldn't exactly call it stalking. I sat on the bed, ignoring the noises I hear from around me and grabbed my sketch pad. The one thing not many people know about me is that I draw and it was my favourite pastime. If I could spot a paper and a pen just lying somewhere unused, it will be filled up with whatever was on my mind to draw.

I sketched the scene in front of me—including my window and the blocks on the walls of her apartment building. As she sat on the windowpane, admiring the view, I was sketching it on paper. It was a memory that could last with me forever and I would indulge on memory line as I gaze at it.

Looking up, I saw that she left the window and my smile fell into a frown. I can't see her anymore and shifting my eyes back at my drawing, I saw how I was almost finished with the outline. I jolted out of the bed and walked to the window, trying to gaze out and see if she was still in her room. After a few minutes of patiently waiting, I could see another figure walking to the window and it was a man, much to my shock. The man was tightly embracing her as they stared out to the view and I could see the man kissing her head and it angered me—I was jealous, yes. I'm pretty candid and what I was looking at was something to have me riled up.

Of course, I couldn't just give it up. Does that man even know there was me before him? Didn't that man ever think there was such guy who loved her so before him? Didn't she ever think that I was still left hanging from our break up? What did that guy have that I didn't? Would she tell me why? Those were all the questions I have and I wasn't impressed by how close they were and I was directly across their window to witness it.

"I can't handle this" I muttered, shutting the curtains.

I looked back at the drawing and found my drawing still at the bed, waiting patiently to be finished. I lost all motivation and ignored the sketch, leaving it on the desk unfinished. I lied down on the bed, ruffling my auburn hair out of frustration. Shutting my eyes, I thought I could get at least serenity but all I see is that horrid images in my head about them.

His same cerulean eyes as my girl and messy dyed silver hair with his posture and arms embracing my beloved drove me insane that I couldn't even think anymore. I forced myself to stand and head to the bathroom, washing my hands from the graphite and stared at my reflection on the mirror. From my auburn hair, rare green eyes that were enclosed in glasses and a growing stub to my thin build and geek appearance made me no less envious of that man who looked so laid back and chill.

I walked back into the window, opening my curtain just a little to take a peek. I noticed the man had already been walking on the street and my ex-girlfriend on the window yet again. Losing my mood from that horrid picture gave me no confidence to open the curtain up again. I was left to peek creepily onto the windows, taking a lasting glimpse of her before anything else could happen.

By noon, my curtains were still closed and I was sitting on the desk, reading a book. I would check the curtains every hour or two to see if she was still in her apartment and I would manage to spot her on her own desk, writing some articles on her laptop. I grew proud of her—she finally was living her dream to explore and earn money at the same time. She would tell me sheepishly sometimes that she wanted to travel and earn money. I convinced her to a pilot once too but she didn't want to be staying on one country for only 4 to 6 hours, she wanted to explore the country as a whole and experience living in that environment. I laughed as I recalled that memory, but then again, it was just a memory.

By the time I realized I was finished reading the book, I realized it's been 2 hours since I last checked and ran to the curtains to peek again. I noticed her, all dressed in a coat and her computer satchel hanging on her shoulder, heading towards the door and with haste, I grabbed my phone, wallet and keys and bolted out of the apartment.

As I left the apartment building, I waited for her to exit the building, thinking of a modus to show myself up to her again. I began to panic, having not really think this thoroughly enough and the moment I saw her exit the building, my nerves suddenly kicked in and I felt a chill in my spine as I tried moving my body but they failed me so and I was stuck there, gazing at her fading figure. She didn't even dare to look my way and headed correspondingly to where she intends to go. The more she walked away, the more I wanted to grab her and take her back into my arms and tell her I still love her but I remembered that man who hugged her hours ago and felt reluctant to do so.

Finally getting my thoughts together, I gathered up my courage and ran up to her, catching up how far she had walked out of my sight. I found by the end of the street and she was at the bus stop, waiting and that's where I had my chance. I walked up to the waiting shed but midway through, I stopped. I don't know why I was so nervous to approach her nor did I know why I went to all this effort to be able to talk to her again when we broken off a long time ago.

Like I said, I didn't receive the closure I wanted.

I am that selfish, and I should've done what she did—move on. If she was successful on moving on from me, then I should be also. I should be a lot stronger than before but I never did, I didn't change one bit and as much as the signs were so obvious and practically slammed into my face, I didn't dare to let go of my feelings for her and it just prolonged my affliction and it made me look that foolish at love.

I was that close to her but I remained unmoved and couldn't even speak to call her name. She had her earphones on, of course—it was an annoying trait of hers ever since I've known her. How the hell could I grab her attention now? Of course, I can't just grab her earphone off and might end up regretting it with a black eye as a souvenir. I watched her nod and tap her foot to the beat and can't help but smile like an idiot as she enjoys her music.

Her hair was arranged into a portioned braid above her bangs and her turquoise highlights danced with the light wind. Her hand rested in her pockets and I picked up a tint of eye liner in her eyes and a bit of wine red lipstick on her lips—she was beautiful. She turned her head towards my direction but stopped midway and focused on the road, still waiting for the bus to come. Meanwhile, I stood firm on my place, hoping that she would notice me and my wishes were granted as her eyes shifted towards my direction, sensing someone was looking at her.

Her eyes widened in shock and took off her earphones. She took a few steps towards me and her voice was hoarse as she spoke, "Hiccup?" she asked astonishingly.

She still calls me by my nickname—SHE STILL CALLS ME BY MY NICKNAME!

I gave her a playful smile and her amused face turned into a glad one. She took a second to let out some air, depicting her little amusement and walked up to me, engulfing me in a tight hug. I didn't realize that she was hugging me until 5 seconds later and didn't hesitate to return the hug. I hugged her tighter and it sent butterflies on my stomach like it did last time, about three years ago.

We broke our hug and she repositioned her satchel while I kept my hands onto her waist. She gave out a little chuckle before clearing her throat, reminding me of my hands. I pulled my hands away and gave a sheepish smile and an apology but she dismissed it, rather more surprised by the fact we were able to meet up again after such a long time.

"How are you all these years?" she asked.

"I'm actually fine" I answered, "What about you?"

She nodded, "Oh yeah, more than okay, honestly"

Damn it. We break up, she gets to have more fun in her life.

"We haven't talked since…" she trailed off, trying to recall the last time we talked.

"Since we broke up" I said, finishing her sentence.

Her face faltered into an apologetic smile—she must be reminiscing the moment in her memories. Her eyes turned to meet mine and tucked her stray strands behind her ear, "It was hard on us and our relationship seemed like it wouldn't really work" she muttered, but it was enough for me to hear and it gave a pang in the chest.

I can't say anything to contradict. I didn't want us to be arguing, especially after just seeing each other after three years and just nodded along, trying to connect with her topic, "Agreed" I said, disclosing the topic and opened a new one, "I heard you became a photojournalist… I'm really proud of you"

"You are?" she asked in bewilderment.

"Yeah, I mean… you finally get to live your dream to explore and earn money"

"Well yeah, I guess" she shrugged, "I try to finish the job right away so I can do some exploring on my own, then I e-mail the article to them the moment I get Wi-Fi or internet connection."

But we both heard the bus horns honked and it was getting closer. I wasn't really going to anywhere but she was and as much as I want to join her on her little trip, she made clear to me than she was more than okay after the break up and it just gave a beating to my heart and I think I needed a little space to think about it.

She turned around and rushed to climb aboard the bus but before she hopped on, I called out to her, "For your information, I still love you, y'know"

Her head turned towards me and she gave out a smile, "You're a hopeless bastard, Hiccup" she laughed.

"But why do you still call me by my nickname?" I teased her.

"Okay then Harold, I'll see you around then" she waved.

"See you, Astrid"

"It's Alma!" she exclaimed.

And with that she went aboard and the bus took off. I waited for the bus to leave my sight before I started walking back to my apartment. I grabbed my phone out of my pocket as I felt it vibrate and looked to see who had texted me.

' _I hope this is still your number. If so, seeing you was nice. I hope we can catch up. – A '_

I smiled but didn't dare to reply. I didn't need to.


	2. Issues

" _But you don't judge me. 'Cause if you did, baby, I would judge you too"_

 **\- Issues**

Never have been getting home felt so alive—especially from a vacation or failed permanent residency. Especially as she had enough of the pain and drama that made her want to burn Rome into ashes like what happened to Pompeii. She was like Mt. Etna waiting to explode but ashes and smoke were rising from within and out of the crater, alerting people of her wrath. In her anger, sprung out sorrow like she's never felt before and cried for hours in the airport at Rome with everyone staring at her like some insane person. It was because her baggage was too overweight and no matter what trash in her luggage she threw on the trash can, it was still overweight and literally lashed out everything on the trash can.

Someone approached her, pitying her situation. It was his kind attention and willingness to have a few of her things be put into his luggage. She responded with reluctant and threatening stance but otherwise, agreed out of desperation to pass the check in counter. She smiled for the first time in weeks and the man who had helped her felt so charmed by it that he tagged along and got to know the miserable lady in the airport.

To his surprise, she was from his town and they were only months apart. It made him wonder why he had never seen her before since they also studied on the same academy during middle school and high school, but he shrugged his questions off as they got to the later parts of her life. She only explained briefly, still a bit watchful whether his actions were generous and of a gentleman or he was some other bastard looking for someone to blackmail and stalk. But she was convinced otherwise, this man was a genuine one. It was all plastered in his face—a complete dork, freckles plastered all over his face and a cute stub right in his chin—she was delighted to have him around for a while.

They passed the immigration counters and walked to the elevator to get to the baggage claim. Apparently, they had just returned from Rome and being back on Norway was a relief—at least for Alma, she really wanted to get away from Rome as much as possible after the whole fiasco and drama she's been to with her now ex-boyfriend. She turned to the man beside her who took a glance at her also—like a gentleman his stance was and she thought it was cute and returned a smile at him before shifting her eyes away.

The gentleman couldn't help but let out a cheeky grin. It was like that moment your crush smiled at you and you can't help but squeal in delight and that was how he felt—but of course, not the squealing part. He cleared his throat, shifting his eyes back at the conveyor belt on watch for her baggage but Alma couldn't help it otherwise, "You're really gonna wait for me this far?" she asked.

"You stuff is with me" he simply answered.

"But you can just hand them to me" she prompted.

"You have a point" he said, "But we live on the same town, your stuff is too many and too big for you to handle and you'll need protection from at least making another scandal"

Alma couldn't helped but feel insulted—especially on that last part, "I did not make a scandal and I will never make a scandal"

"Yes, you did" he said, "Firstly, you cried at the airport, then literally thrashed the trash can and on the plane, you voiced the stewardess"

Okay, Alma took back everything she thought about this guy.

"I did not voice the stewardess, okay? I was merely defending my principle" Alma retorted.

"Tissue, Alma. You were fighting for tissue" he corrected out.

Yeah, Alma just took everything back now.

The belt was filled with new luggage but still can't find theirs and the more each moment passed, Alma felt more irritated especially with this man beside her and his sarcastic remarks and comebacks. But then again, this man was all Alma has for a company. She could contact her friends, yes, but they didn't have any word of what happened yet and Alma wanted to be away from them for a while but not entirely alone. This new acquaintance she has attained at the airport has been proven more helpful than her best friend and flatmate, Rafaela. Alma eyed him carefully again and as her eyes wandered and took note of every striking feature, she couldn't help but notice something oddly peculiar about his baggage, ostensibly.

"That's really all your things, huh" she started yet another conversation.

He turned to her and nodded, shifting his eyes to his little ol' suitcase, "These? Yeah"

"That's it?" Alma can't be more amused by the idea, "How'd you fit your things and mine in there? It's such a small suitcase"

"Well, it just fits everything that I need" he replied.

Alma's eyes shifted to the conveyor belt, jolting as she noticed her suitcase passing by them and went after it. She grabbed the big luggage but was assisted by the fine gentleman who eventually carried to suitcase himself. He grunted as he lifted it off the belt and struggled to get it to the carriage, "Shit, that's heavy!" he groaned as he shook his hands to wear the pain off.

"Of course it is" Alma commented, "My whole life is in there so please excuse me. We don't think alike"

He pushed the cart away but Alma stopped him and eyed him intently with a glare, "I have another one" she barked.

"Another one" he muttered, turning the cart towards the belt.

Silence came after between them and he can't help but feel awkward especially seeing the girl beside him had a glare. He brought up his hand, lightly scratching his cheek, "So, literally speaking, you really have your whole life there?" he stuttered, trying to ease up the mood between them.

Alma turned her head towards him but gave no answer, but at least her glare faltered and her face was in a straight line. Her arms were crossed, her hair was dishevelled and her eyes were still red and droopy from all that crying, that black choker and dark tint of lipstick on her lips and her red sweater mixed with a brown furred cardigan—she was so beautiful to be crying in his opinion and can't help but stare at her.

He shook his head, trying to relieve himself from staring too much and turned his head away, "You're bound to have excess baggage then" he muttered.

It was something dangerous to say, especially to a woman like Alma who had the fiercest attitude and apparently, great hearing. She grabbed the poor man on his shoulder and turned him to face her and gave him a punch as his eyes met up with hers. He yelped and cried in pain but Alma couldn't care less if people were looking at them—particularly her—again and grabbed her other baggage that just showed up and pushed the cart and pulled the poor man with her.

Alma walked towards the exit and settled her baggage in a corner and released the injured man from her grab with a frustrated huff, "You know, I've had it with your punch lines. You've been at it for too long and it's goddamn insulting!"

"You could've just said so!" he retorted.

"I'm not like that" she remarked, "Especially with you judging me too much"

He shook his head, surprised by her remark. His brows furrowed and he ignored the fading pain from his cheek and shifted his eyes and met her glare, "I judged you?" he questioned.

"You judged me, asshole" she retorted.

Finally comprehending what she was talking about and the peril situation he got himself into, it was impossible to deny what she heard and she had heard right but interpreted wrong—at least from his point of view. Alma stepped away from him and walked away with the heavy cart, leaving without him even trying to explain himself—he actually didn't need to, Alma heard enough.

But he wasn't going down without a fight or at least a statement. In an attempt to redeem himself, he tried to explain himself and chased after her, calling her name to gain her attention but she only ignored him and kept walking. But after a few good steps, he finally caught up with her and stopped her from leaving the bay, even damaging his feet on the process and crashing his body onto the cart. Alma stopped and watched as he scrambled to stand up and let out a few groans of pain. But before Alma could ram the cart onto him again, he held his hands up in the air, "Look, I didn't judge you, okay? I was just stating the fact that your whole life is in that suitcase as you said and that it was overweight. How was that even judgmental?" he defended.

"Something about me bringing my whole life then having excess baggage" Alma answered, "You were implying that I shouldn't have brought my entire life so I wouldn't go over the allowance—that I should have spared something for myself so I'll have something to go home for"

He shook his head for the nth time that day as he once again tried processing her words into his head. He can't get why Alma came up with that conclusion when he just commented it in a manner of a small joke—again, at least in his perspective, but no, like Alma said, they don't think alike. But, he snapped out of his senses when he heard Alma speak in such retorting manner as possible, "Sorry, I really thought I needed all of my things, but I was wrong, I just thought I might"

Alma pushed the cart past him but he didn't let her out of sight again and offered to push the cart instead of her as an attempt on apologizing. She was reluctant to let him but he pushed through and eventually accepted the help as the cart was getting heavier for her by the minute, or it was because she's drained much energy from the past restless days.

"So I'm the judgmental one" he muttered, "Touché"

Alma didn't reply and watched him put his baggage into the cart and push it to the end of the bay to the taxi stand. As they walked towards the end of the bay, Alma noticed he attempted to start another and hopefully, something lighter of a conversation between them but he would shut his mouth before air would even come out. It was a strange feeling for Alma but she felt bad for lashing out on him again—well, to make a fair point, he did start the whole argument but she had dealt with way worse and should've at least not punched him in the face in public and used her words.

"You know, for a fishbone, you're strong"

"There's a thing called underestimation" he replied with a chuckle.

"True, but seriously..." Alma nodded along.

"You know, for a lady, you are violent" he commented.

"There's a thing called underestimation" now it was Alma's turn to laugh.

"But that violent trait of yours… does it have something to do with that tattoo on your wrist?" he asked.

Alma eyed him and held her wrist where the tattoo was located, "How'd you know about my tattoo?" she asked, "Were you checking me out?"

"No!" he exclaimed, "If you could remember, you rolled your sleeves up on the plane and I noticed the tattoo by chance"

Alma nodded, convinced by the explanation. She took a quick glance of her wrist where the tattoo was located and her face scrunched, struggling to recall why she had a tattoo and where did she get it but failed to recall so and gave out a sigh, "I honestly don't remember why and where I got it" she answered, "I probably had this while I was drunk somewhere. I never really pay attention to it and sometimes I'd forget having this obvious tattoo on my arm"

"It's really gothic" he commented, "I was gonna ask if it had an artsy meaning"

"Do tattoos need to have an artsy meaning?" she asked.

"Well, yeah… it's also a form of art so it's gotta have a meaning" he answered.

Alma nodded, understanding this man's take on tattoos. She gazed at her wrist and tried remembering the details of her tattoo that covered for the most part because of her sweater. It was a paper plane etched on her wrist and a trail inked throughout her arms and the trail leads up to her forearm where there was a grenade with its pin laying inked somewhere in her arm. For the most part, she was confused as to why such symbols did she pick for a tattoo, affirming the fact that she might've been drunk when she had that tattoo and why the hell did she had a tattoo the first place, further confirming that conclusion.

"Well, Mr. Artsy, do you have any tattoos?" she asked.

"It's Harold and yes, I have one" he answered, "On my back"

"Well, does that have any artsy meaning?"

"Oh yeah" he replied, "It's pretty deep, if you ask me and I designed it myself"

"Oh God, I hope it isn't some sort of a woman's image or anything crappy" Alma scorned.

Harold couldn't be any more offended with his art be called crappy and gave a playful smirk towards Alma, "Oh, you would be surprised on how majestic it looks" he coaxed.

"Then let's see it" she dared.

Harold's face flushed down to a total shock as he didn't move. Meanwhile, Alma crossed her arms and lets out a stern and intense look towards Harold, daring him to publicly show his back just for her to see his tattoo, at least that what she meant. Alma could laugh until the next hour on how she managed to fire back at his shrewd comebacks but she wanted him to do it and kept up the act. He returned a reluctant look and furrowed his brows, "Are you serious?" he asked.

"Yeah, let's see it now" Alma answered.

"But this is a public place"

"So what? It's just your back" Alma replied, "It's not like I strip you off of your dignity"

Harold huffed, unable to understand her impulsive personality and turned around and took off his jacket then he lifted his shirt to reveal his tattoo. Alma studied the tattoo which almost covered his entire back and she was quite impressed with the detailed design and the harmonic colours he used that wasn't over the top and was just right but at the same time, it befitted it well. But the design that stood out the most was the black dragon on the middle with a red tailfin and it was the feature that got her staring at it the most.

The second later, Harold released the fabric, letting it cover his skinny body and slid his jacket back on again. He turned back to Alma with a cheeky grin and took note of her smile, "It was nice" she said, "You're quite the artist"

Harold lets out a sigh, "How is this about me now?" he asked.

"You asked me so I'm gonna ask you about it also. Isn't that a way of getting to know a person? When you ask them a question and they answer, expect them ask the same question back"

"You really have a way of reasoning" Harold chuckled.

They could tell they were enjoying one's company a lot despite their many differences and shaky personalities and it brought them at least a step to being friends. In all honesty, Alma was glad she found out about her ex's infidelity and got to meet a new friend she might not admit but is the best person she had met in all her 23 years of living in the crappy world. Meanwhile, Harold felt likewise, but it was more of an attracted-on-first-sight kind of issue and couldn't help but to assist the lovely but sorrowful lady back home, but nevertheless, he was glad to also have met Alma or his life would've gotten too boring after the passing years of newly adulthood.

Let's just leave it like that, as they couldn't have it any other way.

* * *

 **To those who have read the fanfiction "That Thing Called Destiny", this is How to: Be Judgmental and How to: Answer The Damn Phone combined, and yes, I am the author of that story.**

 **To request, PM me with your song and if you'd like to add details of what kind of one-shot you'd like, you may add it there. Please note that if it's a modern AU then I'll be changing the names of the characters on a modern basis:**

 **Hiccup – Harold ; Astrid – Alma ; Ruffnut – Rafaela ; Tuffnut – Trevor ; Fishlegs – Finley ; Snotlout – Simon ; Eret – Erik ; Stoick – Stephen ; Gobber – Gerald ; Valka – Valerie ; Heather (constant) ; Dagur – Daemon ; Mala (constant)**

 **Also, please note that, I might not make your requested one shots right away because I'm also busy at school or I'm just lazy.**

 **Lastly, no smut please… thank you.**

 **See you on the next song!**


	3. Rose, The Flower

**This was requested by grimes19 of Fan Fiction. net**

* * *

The battle was their beat. It was fought and won countless of times, in one way or another and as every ship sunken and hunter fallen, they were one step closer in reaching the victory of the war. The war had caused too much, but neither side declined to surrender and continued, gambling their lives in the process, provoking the other of their supremacy and antics—it was like Holmes and Moriarty without the British accent and long coats. It was that infamous fight of the intellect which brought tribes and colonies to face off against each other in such play as an old beaten up board game which continues to fascinate either side of their own strategy.

They were regarded as mere puppets, ought to be played and lost to win a battle—but it wasn't always the case. They played an impressive feat but failed to conceive at the end, the glory of dying for battle—for what was righteous. Hel was waiting for their cries and pleas to enter the field and sit at the table of kings and the goddess was laughing at their idiocy. But the latter side chose to save as many as they can, even shaming themselves for those they can't save, it was a tearful sight but it was war—they were no tears but, screams of rage and agony.

The old but young looking captain once said, "We try to save as many people as we can. Sometimes, it doesn't mean everybody but if we can't find a way to live with that, next time, maybe nobody gets saved". It was something that could be related to their situation and strikingly leaves a dent deeper with the weight of an entire race depending on their shoulders and every battle they fought, fought as if it's their last.

On the northern isles, just a little far off the archipelago they have acclaimed, on the northeast boundary where a beautiful and bountiful island stood was now a few steps away from an ultimate disaster area. The coast was filled with debris and the trees and vegetation covered by flames or replaced by ashes. However, on the south coast where a certain outpost once stood, now reduced to debris and scraps was recently a warzone and with the last of the hunters gone and retreated, it was a battle cry of victory, yet the damage sustained was devastating and would take about months to restore the outpost to its former glory.

The victors gathered in their clubhouse where the hearth kept them warm and relaxed from the battle. Miraculously, not much injury were sustained considering their noble dragon steeds and their cooperation during the battle pulled them through into successfully recapturing their outpost who had fallen to the hands of their enemies.

However, the fatigue and horror of the battle withered away as their eyes burned out of the sight of a foreign man who came to aid them in their battle pleasured their ally in massaging her swollen and ridiculously smelly feet while getting massaged on the feet by another one of their ally. The latter took time to compliment each other's feet and skill in massaging with set their stomach to churn and haul their eyes out of their sockets, apparently wishing to have amnesia to forget about that image. Coming to their aid was a black dragon who raised a wing to cover their eyes from the sight and helping him was the other dragons inside the clubhouse that also wanted to get away from the horrid and dragged their riders out to somewhere to clear their heads.

"Thanks bud" said Hiccup, a skinny lad with an unusually striking face, who was currently being dragged away from the clubhouse, "That was one image that will haunt my dreams forever"

The dragon warbled as he received a pat from his friend. The lad mounted him and they took off freely in the setting sunlight which coloured the skies in red, yellow and lavender tones. The pair eventually circled around the forest, surveying the damage the island sustained and if there were any harmed dragons in sight and to their bad luck, there were armed catapults, weapons and nets that were lying about with burnt vegetation here and there but so far there weren't any dragons who were injured or berserk from the incident.

The lad smiled and steered his dragon towards the western coast of the island where a few bits of the fight took place. While on course, he ruffled his hair and held his nape, letting out a few deep breaths to release the stress from his body. He felt relieved after being able to recapture to outpost and just wanted to sleep or spend some quality time alone to let himself loose but then again, the images in his head won't disappear and will haunt him every time he'll close his eyes.

As the western coast came to view, he surveyed the debris left behind from the battle with ships and outposts wrecked and sunken leaving it a total wasteland. He requested his best friend to land on the sand and he obliged, following his rider as he took a stroll on the beach, along with watching his rider wincing as he surveyed the damage they will deal.

"Odin have mercy" he mumbled, "Hey Toothless, how in Thor's hammer are we gonna clean up this mess?"

The dragon, named Toothless, simply warbled causing his rider to ruffle his hair in frustration. Hiccup continued walking with his companion in tow and began to randomly kick the rubble away from his path before settling down on a boulder and faced the ocean. His face rested on his palms, looking pale and stressed from the recent events and ignored his dragon's attempts to cheer him around—he even drew on the sand with a wood piece he just found lying on the sand. It was supposed him and his rider riding into the sunset but his rider was so distressed that his thoughts filled his head and besides, the drawing wasn't understandable anyway.

The black dragon found it impossible to move his rider and roamed around the area, trying to find something to lighten him mood for the moment. But his interest on a pile of crates all stocked up caused him to be buried beneath the crates as they fell on him due to his nose sniffling inside one of the crates and that caught his rider's attention who walked up to him with a grunt and helped his dragon out of the mess.

"Oh c'mon bud!" Hiccup grunted, "These were neatly piled and now we're gonna have to stack them all up"

As he grabbed one crate away, an item fell and landed on his foot, causing him to yelp and jolt back. Hiccup groaned as his good foot ached and struggled to stand up. He hopped towards the item and kneeled to take a closer look. His dragon friend sniffled, taking a scent of familiarity on the object that surely he has only seen now. Hiccup brought the item up and studied its feature and calculated the weight, and as the sand fell down back to the ground, he saw it was a beautiful lyre with bronze frames which had a Doric design.

"Look bud" he called, "I haven't seen a lyre in a while"

The dragon shook his head and raised a brow, not familiar with such instrument. Hiccup plucked a few strings and the lyre beautifully ringed with a pleasant melody. The dragon's ears perked up and he shot a gummy smile, indicating that he like the tune and nudged his rider, wanting to hear more of the music. The boy plucked a few more random strings and the melody became a bit dishevelled and the dragon nudged his rider again, stopping him from plucking the strings.

"What?" asked Hiccup, "It's not like I know how to play a lyre"

The dragon snorted at him and the lad shot a disgruntled look at his dragon and stood up, walking back to the boulder with the lyre in hand. The dragon stood up and walked towards the boulder and watched as his rider fumbled with the lyre without knowing what his intent with it whatsoever.

"The last lyre player I know of back at Berk was Bertha Hildegard, but she was already old and the last time I saw her alive was about nine years ago" he told, "She was a great player and would sing songs and stories to young Vikings every night and I came to every gathering and dad would have to force me out before I would leave. Then sometimes her tales would keep me awake until the stroke of the next sunrise and I'd draw the scenes I remembered her telling."

The dragon lied on the sand with his eyes up and bright, listening attentively to his rider who told a bit of his childhood. Hiccup initially went on, telling a few tales which he remembered and would sing a few verses of the songs he liked to hear before but the dragon ended covering his ears in the process which ended in subsequent laughter from his best friend.

As the laughter subsided, Hiccup brought up the lyre to his lap and strummed a few strings, "But there was this one song which I couldn't get off my head" he said.

The dragon garbled, his curiosity shifted back in the look of his cat-like eyes. The lad took a quick glance at his curious friend and shot a smile before turning his attention back to the lyre, "Old Hildegard sang it to me as a lullaby but it kept me awake all night with the words stuck in my brain" he shared.

He tried to pluck a few strings he thought was correct but eventually sighed in frustration and brought the lyre down to rest in his laps and took a breath before trying to get the lyrics out his throat, _"As I take the rose flower and let it float on the water…"_ he started, before trailing off to try to recall the next lyrics of the song.

" _Float and float you, rose flower down the ford"_

The dragon shot a displeased look and his rider noticed and shot back a frustrated look, "I know I'm not a good singer. I'm just trying to sing the song in my accord" he retorted, "It's not like my family had a line of great singers. I bet my dad could do worse than me!"

The dragon rested his snout into his rider's lap and let out a huff, trying to calm his rider who was getting worked up by his awful singing voice. Hiccup lets out a sigh and patted his dragon and his eyes shifted from the lyre and stared out at the horizon to watch the sunset to pass the time. Hiccup suddenly laughed, causing the curious glance of his dragon yet again, "In all honesty, I haven't seen a rose yet" he said, "Trader Johann said it's red as wine and full of thorns but beautiful as a maiden. I think that's maybe the reason my brain is hooked on the song—it's this rose that got me shook"

" _As I take the rose flower and let it float on the water…"_ Hiccup sang, _"Float and float you, rose flower—"_

"… _down the ford"_

Hiccup jolted and turned to the source of the voice and found none other than Astrid and her companion Stormfly. He relaxed as he caught sight of his ally and beloved, and shot a cheeky grin towards her, "How'd you find me here?" he asked.

"Follow the sound of the dreadful singing voice" Astrid laughed.

"Astrid.." he called, with a flirtatious tone implied.

Astrid couldn't contain her laughter and let loose, earning a glare from her boyfriend. Her laugh subsided and walked over to Hiccup and took a sit beside him on the boulder, "I was around the area and coincidentally found you here on the beach" she answered, "And yeah, I heard you sing and it was awful"

"As if you could sing any better" Hiccup pouted.

Astrid shifted her eyes to the lyre and snatched it from Hiccup's lap, startling the poor lad. Astrid studied the lyre and strummed a few strings and gave out a nostalgic kind of smile. She plucked a few strings, creating a melody which surprised Hiccup considering that she never mentioned she could play the lyre before. As the notes ended, Hiccup clapped his hands and both Toothless and Stormfly nudged the Valkryie who responded with a pet.

"Why haven't you mentioned to me that you can play the lyre?" Hiccup asked.

"Not really" Astrid answered, "I only know a few songs—the ones my grandmother used to sing a lot to me every night"

"Wait, your grandmother was Old Bertha Hildegard?"

"Yeah" Astrid responded, "I even remember you swinging by whenever she would tell tales and sing songs with her lyre"

Hiccup laughed, "Well, I really like them" he responded, "It keeps me entertained and relaxed after apprentice work in the forge. Also, it keeps me awake almost every night just thinking about it"

"No wonder you have such vivid imagination" Astrid commented.

They shared a laugh which lasted for the next few moments. As Hiccup gathered his breath, he rested his head onto her shoulder, sliding his arm onto her shoulder. The romantic couldn't help but stare up into this girl he's betrothed which really seemed like a dream he'd never want to wake up from. He remembers all of it vividly in his mind, how she was the girl of his dreams from the first moment he saw her. Astrid befriended those he can't befriend but she remained neutral to the whole bullying part until the dragon killing training about where she claimed an intense rivalry and hatred for him but things shifted yet again as he took her out on a flight that changed her point of view forever.

They became friends, allies, partners and the rest wrote itself—and now, they were lovers and betrothed to each other, destined to one day tie the knot, but it wasn't in their plans yet. They were still young and there were still too many things to do and responsibilities to fulfil. Astrid took a glance at Hiccup and smiled, feeling lucky to have such smart, saintly and dorky handsome lad as her boyfriend. Finally, someone who was able to put up with her antics and loved her first without any reason to care whether she was a war freak or mean because he knew there was that goodness and driven heart inside her and Hiccup was able to point it out to her and help her.

"Astrid, can I ask" Hiccup spoke, "Have you seen a rose?"

"Yeah" Astrid answered, "Grandma once traded it from Johann and gave it to me as a gift"

"What did it look like?" Hiccup asked,

"It was red and the petals were soft and the stem was filled with thorns" Astrid answered, "Why are you asking me this?"

"I'm just curious" Hiccup replied, "Since flowers weren't welcomed that well at our house and I never really inquired to Johann about flowers"

"The song got you curious, I presume" she chuckled.

"I guess you could say that"

Astrid grabbed a stick from the sand and drew a rose. It wasn't as great as Hiccup's style of drawing but it was still like rose realistically. She put the stick down and brought the lyre up and began to pluck a few strings and took a few glances at Hiccup and back at the instrument. Meanwhile, both dragons scooted closer to Astrid and listened to the melody and waited for the right note before she started to sing, _"As I take the rose flower and let it float on the water…"_

Surprisingly, she wasn't a bad singer. She was rather great at it and it surprised Hiccup yet again. Astrid lets out a chuckle before singing the next lyrics, _"Float and float you, rose flower down to the ford"_

" _Floated and floated the rose flower and started spinning…"_ Astrid sang. She nudged Hiccup, prompting him to sing the next few lines with her but he shook his hand, answering a gentle 'no' to her, _"The mother came to get the water and started wondering"_

" _My rose flower, why have you withered?"_ Astrid continued to sing and kept on nudging Hiccup to join her but he kept shaking his head 'no', declining the offer but Astrid kept on nudging him.

Hiccup sighed in defeat, having surrendered to her prompting and sang along, _"It must have taken you too long, baby—to be floating on the water…"_

" _The mother took the rose flower and puts it in the house and as she looks at it, she remembers her own child"_ Hiccup sang in solo, surprising him, but Astrid only responded with a chuckle and turned her attention to the lyre. But Toothless kept teasing and covered his ears in agony, earning another distressed look from his rider.

" _As I take the rose flower and let it float on the water"_ Astrid sang again, _"Float and float you, rose flower down to the ford…"_

She plucked a few more strings before ending the song and as the melody faded away, Hiccup pulled her into a kiss. Astrid was startled but nonetheless, kissed back with a smile plastered on her face. Their lips parted a few moments later and the romantic lad pulled her closer and the rest of the moment was filled with the righteous silence with the moonlight glimmering above.

* * *

 **The song is named "Rose, The Flower" by the Belarusian folk band "Stary Olsa".**

 **I hope you guys like it! Leave a criticism if needed so I can improve my writing.**


	4. It's Okay, That's Love

" _My flawed heart and my love. Will you accept it? Me?"  
_ **\- It's Okay, That's Love**

To Astrid, she thought it all too much—even in herself, she knew she wasn't being herself and every moment of it fleeting vividly, she loathed. She took off the necklace and placed it on the desk, staring at it with a disgruntled face but it was not because she didn't love it—oh, she did and the man who gave it to her, but the feeling was that it was not worth for someone like her. It was the thought that lingered in her head for quite some time and with each passing day, he had been more romantic and she had been trying to topple her churning heart with sass and her cold attitude but ended up rather failing awfully.

To him though, she was the most perfect girl he had ever seen. Yes, he noticed a few flaws here and there but undoubtedly, she was his strength and he knew she doesn't realize that idea wholly. He noticed her attitude the last few months and very notably when he gave her the betrothal gift. He had already attempted to ease her, comforting her with loving words that she was the only one for him but he still felt the self-doubt she had. He agreed whole-heartedly—Astrid wasn't herself, and it was unlikely and weird at the same time. In her head lingered the cruelty of her attitude, somewhat heartless and wild like a lone ranger and that caused her, and sometimes her friends, to fall on ends—that was what Hiccup knew.

Without wasting time, after nightfall, Astrid left in a hurry to her hut and Hiccup had followed her—earning the weird look from their friends' eyes but Fishlegs was so kind enough to explain what was going on since he had noticed it also. Fishlegs was beside Astrid all throughout those times and she trusted him enough to tell him her feelings, in hopes of getting great advice, but much to her disappointment (that is, if she discovers) that Fishlegs told it to Hiccup who furrowed his brows and ran outside the clubhouse.

Hiccup walked towards her hut and was greeted by Stormfly who looked like she was gonna sleep outside the hut for a change but the door opened and Astrid sprung out and immediately hurried for Stormfly. But as she saw Hiccup, she stopped and stood awkwardly beside the dragon.

"You're gonna take a flight?" Hiccup asked.

"Yeah" Astrid replied.

"Can I come too?" Hiccup asked again.

"If you want"

Then Hiccup noticed something off on Astrid's appearance and shifted his eyes, studying his betrothed intently and rose a brow, "You're not wearing my gift" he remarked.

"Oh… well, I'm gonna take a rather fun, dodgy ride with Stormfly and I thought that it might fall off so I left it in my desk" Astrid murmured.

Hiccup took a silent sigh and nodded, "Well, I guess that is reasonable" he said, "I'll just go get Toothless and let's be on our way"

As Hiccup was out of sight, Astrid quickly mounted Stormfly and they took off to Thor-knows-where. She didn't dare to look back and watch as Dragon's Edge faintly disappears and focused her sights to escape the fog they entangled themselves into. Stormfly flew straight, as commanded by her rider until they were able to escape the fog but they heard the familiar high pitched screech whooshing piercing the winds as it were flying towards them at a fast rate.

Astrid groaned in frustration and asked Stormfly to fly up into the clouds but the high pitched screech followed without delay and it was when they heard a voice calling from the screeching, calling out to her name but Astrid ignored it and went up to the clouds, trying to take cover from the black dragon and its rider they had grown so familiar with. She had Stormfly back away slowly, but to her disadvantage, the dragon roared, using his echolocation skills to track the Nadder and her rider.

Stormfly flew away from the hoard of clouds, giving away their position as they attempted flying farther away. Astrid steered the dragon down to another hoard of clouds and kept flying straight, in an attempt to lose Hiccup and Toothless, which was a big difficulty, considering it was night and the damn dragon has a skill for echolocation.

"Astrid! Where are you going?" Hiccup yelled, "Are you trying to run away?"

She didn't bother to answer and went on their way. But as the fog cleared, the dragon and her rider was taken aback by the hoard of Changewings who were in the path and unfortunately crashed into one, causing them to fall rapidly into the deep ocean. Meanwhile, as Hiccup was able to escape the clouds, he saw the Changewings flying past them and one attempted to shoot at them but Toothless was able to dodge and flew past the hoard.

"It's the Changewing migration" Hiccup mumbled, taking note to remind the team to prepare their outpost for the migration.

Toothless growled and attempted to dive down, startling Hiccup. The dragon growled and tried pointing towards the ocean, gaining his friend's attention, "What are you doing Toothless?" he asked frantically, trying to calm his ballistic dragon. But the dragon did not relented and kept on attempting to dive down, agitating Hiccup, "What is it?" he asked again.

As his eyes shifted down below, he saw a faint image of Astrid and Stormfly falling towards the ocean. His heart begun to beat rapidly in panic and without wasting any time, he ordered the dragon to dive down as fast as they could. Toothless dived with all his speed and in seconds, they were close to catching Astrid and Stormfly but Hiccup noticed the ocean only a few hundred meters below them and in a mere matter of seconds, they both could dive in and drown and who knows what dangers were below those waters.

"Toothless, you're almost there!" Hiccup remarked, "Just a little bit more… please! You can do it, bud"

The dragon managed to fly past them and Hiccup was able to catch Astrid from below and quickly flew towards Stormfly whom Toothless caught with his talons. It wasn't an easy ride and Toothless was barely able to hold two humans and a dragon slightly heavier than himself towards a nearby island to rest. Hiccup patted his dragon as they all collapsed on shore. The black dragon closed his eyes and rested, recovering his strength from that strenuous flight. Hiccup however, had some unfinished business with his girlfriend he'd like to disclose the moment she wakes up and to his luck, she woke up moments later.

Astrid groaned and struggled to sit up. She looked around the area, taking note of where she was and bobbed her head around, in search frantically of her dragon, "Stormfly?" she yelled hoarsely.

"She's here and she's fine… don't worry"

The familiar voice had her fearing for the worst and reluctantly turned to the source of the voice. She pulled her knees and wrapped her arms around them, shaking uncontrollably from fear that was all so new to her. She was fearless. She has faced every perilous danger that one normal human can see enough for a lifetime and she faced them with great bravery and was ready to sacrifice her life on the line but this was different, this was new—it was Hiccup's grim look on his face and the anger was solely to her, not to anyone else but only her and this had a different churn inside her.

"I know what you're gonna say—"

"Astrid… leaving the necklace was reasonable but with a note saying you aren't worth it was different" Hiccup replied, "Then, you suddenly taking off like that. What in Valhalla were you thinking?"

"Like what was in the note" Astrid replied, "I was leaving just for a few days to Berk to try and settle my thoughts but you went ahead and tried to stop me"

"You crashed into a Changewing" Hiccup remarked, "Good thing you and Stormfly weren't scorched by acid"

"Should I also write in a thank you note?" Astrid retorted.

"No. But these just take things differently" Hiccup answered, "You almost got yourself and your dragon killed! If me and Toothless weren't there to catch you before you both fell into the ocean, I don't know how to live with it!"

Astrid furrowed her brows in anger and bowed her head into her knees. She covered her ears with her hands, attempting to block out Hiccup's hysterical voice trying to scold her and let the matter get over with and have her go to Berk for a while to clear her head without Hiccup bothering her. Hiccup noticed the gesture and huffed out frustrated sighs and distortedly spoilt his head, indicating his anger towards the girl in front of her.

"You were reckless, imprudent, stubborn and out of all, you aren't yourself!" Hiccup argued, "What has gotten into you that made you this way? Why do you think I don't deserve you?"

"You just said it yourself" Astrid answered, standing up, "I'm reckless, imprudent, stubborn and I'm also heartless and violent. Things that are opposite of you—even you yourself said it, I was like your father, someone that you get tired of listening to, someone who's so different from you and the way we do things"

"I didn't mean that at all"

"It implies" Astrid shrugged.

"So, wait, are you saying that just because we are polar opposites, we can't be together?" Hiccup asked.

"I don't know, but this is between us" Astrid replied, "I think we should really have a bit of space to think about all this—I mean, we're still young and yes, I love you but I just think I'm too different and you need someone somewhat similar to the way you think and move"

Hiccup pondered for a moment, noting every word that Astrid had just said. He thought of it too, that she was incredibly different from him but that personality of hers is what kept Hiccup going and that it was what made them a great duo. She was the face of battle and action opposed to his pacifistic nature and that kept their relationship strong and uniquely matched—it sounded weird, but to him she can do the things he can't and he can do things she can't and with that principle, they complete each other. He didn't want to think too deeply into this matter and shifted his eyes towards Astrid who was taking a seat beside her resting dragon.

He walked towards them and sat beside Astrid, watching the night sky as a few star glimmered and the ocean breeze engulfed them. The waves crashed on the sand, making a faint noise that made the moment less silent but nonetheless, peaceful. Hiccup bobbed his head up and let out a small chuckle, "In all honestly, I was the one who thought I don't deserve you" he said, "Ever since we were young, I had an insane crush on you but you were a warrior and I was just a blacksmith's apprentice and the village screw up. How would I even have the chance to get you to notice me?"

Astrid turned her head towards Hiccup and listened intently to his story, "Then the whole dragon killing things and you were so angry at me winning—I was on the dead end of a stick. But that changed, you kissed me, apparently a few more times after that until we and the gang left Berk and here we are. I still am wondering why did I got you to get stuck with me"

"So I guess we carried on with a relationship with us questioning why we deserve one another" Astrid laughed.

"You kissed me.. more than once and I thought you have never questioned about our relationship—that I was the only who questioned why" Hiccup said, "Can I ask why you questioned now?"

"I don't know, but I kissed you because I want to" Astrid answered, "I was beginning to like you then but seeing you now and how far we've gotten, I just began thinking why a great guy like you has a flawed girl like me for a girlfriend"

"You're not flawed… just human" Hiccup answered.

"No, I am" Astrid answered, "And I feel bad every time I couldn't repay you for—well, this, us"

"I already told you—you are the greatest gift I have received and that I couldn't replace you with anything or anyone else"

Astrid rested her head on Hiccup's shoulder and the gesture was reciprocated with an arm securing her, holding her tightly close towards him. Astrid really couldn't believe how romantic this man was to her and how she fell for the dork was a blessing. She could see a different side to him that was never there before and was she glad to have witness it and it made her love the man more until she was hopelessly caught in his charm and personality.

"Look, I am very sure of my feelings for you" Hiccup said, "It's been there since we were still little and it has just gotten stronger everyday and having you feel the same meant a lot to me—you mean a lot to me and I just hope that we'd be okay no matter what is between us"

Astrid sighed but she flashed a reminiscent smile, "I have a flawed personality, you know them anyway" she started, "And are you really willing to put up with me and my ways?"

"Hmm… actually, the real question here is that are you willing to put up with MY ways?" Hiccup laughed, "I mean, everyday has us always falling into trouble and dangers and war and it can get strenuous and I'm gonna be hard to handle also, the on and on onslaughts of the hunters that could get us separated or captured—"

"Thor, could you stop?" Astrid huffed, "I've managed it for more than a year, and certainly I could do it for a lifetime"

Hiccup widened his eyes in amusement. Her words had taken him aback and he stuttered, unable to comprehend what she just said or to at least get a word out to reply to her, "Lifetime?" he asked in bewilderment and Astrid pulled away from him, noting his questioning face.

"I mean, w-we are betrothed right?"

Hiccup took a few good seconds before he understood what his girlfriend had said and the thought relinquished inside his brain until he abruptly couldn't stop smiling for joy. The word echoed inside his thoughts, whirling him into a pit of endless love struck and his mind danced and shouted for joy vividly. If he wasn't so tired, he would be shouting like a maniac in all of the world and he wouldn't care if someone judged him for it—he was in love with his partner in battle and best friend (other than Toothless) and was he awestruck from the outside.

"Betrothed, huh?" Hiccup chuckled, "I guess you're stuck with me forever"

* * *

 **It's a little out of character but hey, we needed a little angst from these guys.**

 **Ciao!**


	5. RUMOR (P1)

_Someone told me  
They saw you recently, oh no_

Harold received the text, all right. He was looking pretty angry as the rain poured down heavily that noon. He clutched the phone, wanting to have the urge to throw it out and shred it to pieces but he kept his cool, keeping the anger inside himself. His eyebrows were furrowed—tightly knit and sharply curved as Red but his expression—if looked into another angle—he was jealous. He wanted to strangle the person who sent him the text and whoever that guy was who was with his girl—used to be, his girl.

Devastatingly a mess, was he and he cannot deny it. The rain poured as his emotions in a loud cackle against the window, depicting the needles and shrapnel that fell into his crushed heart, somewhat enduring like a masochist, the pain that stayed with him for almost three months and surprisingly, the text he just received was enough to kill him on the inside. Harold swore he could kill anyone out of rage right now, but all he could do was stare at the wall—as if the wall angered him and replied such a grimly stare well enough to kill a man and shred him to bits.

 _They said you looked so happy babe  
Then I felt strengthless_

He looked through the text once again. Words crashed down on him but he tried not to cry. He was a grown man and he needn't to cry such awful tears of jealousy. But then, there was a follow-up text he just noticed sent on the minute before. Harold breathed an apology towards his friend who had texted him, Erik and came out a curse from his mouth. Although he wasn't there to hear it but the anger suppressed into those words was enough to penetrate his soul and feel a shiver on his spine.

'She was smiling..'

He hated those words. He didn't want her to smile—not anymore will he want her to smile. Harold began to question himself, another surging of emotions wavered and it was enough to bring him to compelling tears that rolled down his cheeks as every question wandered all over his mind—as every idea bugged inside his head.

 _Maybe I hoped you would be unhappy  
Are you over me already?  
There's no way_

Such resurgence of feelings had wandered aimlessly throughout his body. He thought of her and what he could have been missing that made her be attracted to this man his friend told her she was with. He was sorry about his thoughts—he wanted her unhappy and devastated as he was but it seemed like he was the victim of love here and she was the player who deceived him like a prey. If what they fought over was something they failed to understand on each other's part then he wished that he could rewind time and stop them both from uttering a single word about it, hopefully, preventing that quarrel that ruined both of them—oh yeah right, him.

 _What do I do? I can't acknowledge this_

He paced around his room before finally deciding to head out. He needed air and it was getting stuffy inside. Harold felt uncomfortable and as he walked by the streets and gazed at the sidewalk, his mind kept exploding with new conclusions and ideas. Clearly, he couldn't accept the fact that his girl had been carried away so easily in just a short period of time against their two years of strong relationship. Was she—no, it was outlandish. She wasn't cheating on him. She kept no secrets and showed him that she only loved him and only him, which sounded more painful than before.

Harold wanted to believe that she wasn't over him yet. He wanted to believe that there was still a chance for them to make up for their huge misunderstanding. He wanted to believe that this man was just her brother or cousin and that was his highest bet. She was a family person and would do anything for them—even covering up tears of despair and sadness to make them happy and entertain them.

 _How you easily forgot me and are so happy  
It's too cruel, you're a cruel woman  
I never knew this till now, I've been deceived_

His mind floated to those questions. He was desperate to have them answered and if he can, just snatch her back to him and never let her go again. A girl like her was something else, he thought. Someone who can round someone's world and did she indeed but she was brilliant at letting someone fall so deeply and forget them in over three months. He brought up his phone, the text still plastering on the phone screen, but by this time, he took the liberty to answer.

'Are you sure? 'Cuz, I swear that I'll cut your tongue out'

He felt pretty satisfied and it wasn't long a moment before his friend had replied his message. But then again, only more grimace came and he regret having to reply at his message. Harold cursed him again and his photography skills as he found her picture smiling with the man who didn't look like a relative and he stared in awe at her hair—loose, neatly cut and straight towards her chest and the blonde locks were washed away by a platinum colour with ash highlights and certainly he was flabbergasted with this new appearance.

 _I haven't forgotten you yet  
Whatever I do, your smile won't get erased_

He spent the rest of the day gazing at her picture without the slightest thought that attaining her back could be quite the likes of Mission Impossible. He even turned his phone into airplane mode, ignoring the texts of those who sent in the same rumors and even turned off his WiFi so he could get peace and an evening to stare at his beloved former beloved.

Her smile—her lovingly rare, blooming smile—which radiated such sunshine in him that could burn forever. She was happy there—trully happy, undoubtedly happy and was he so jealous of that and whoever had her smile like that. He was a selfish bastard who wanted her to smile like that only to him and nobody else. The photo he saved into his phone's Gallery was on for hours and Harold reminisced every moment he made her smile like that but hardly could keep a long list since she wasn't an avid fan of comedy. But then, she surprises him with that smile for the first time during a get together with their friends when Trevor joked and managed everyone to laugh at it.

 _There's no way, this doesn't make sense  
I wanna believe that they saw wrong_

As hard as the day passed by, Harold found himself sitting by the window, leaning his back and keeping his head down low, grimacing the thought that his girl had been taken by another. Of course, he wouldn't believe such thing just happened. All this time, he thought that she wasn't over him yet and he still have the chance to clear thing up with her and get back with her—but, this was a very surprisingly turn of events.

As the night fell and the city lights started to flicker, Harold took a deep sigh and stood up from his seat, turning to leave his apartment for a quick stroll around the block and hopefully rest his troubled mind from the news he received that day.

As crazy as this was, he was still believing that somewhere inside her, she was still in love with him and was just waiting for him to get back together with her—using that hell of a man to provoke him into taking her back. It was rather a detailed thought but he can't help but imagine things and that was exactly what he dreamt of that same night. He woke up like a crazy man, refusing to believe that she didn't call in the middle of the night to meet up with him and eventually talked it up, but to his dismay, there was neither call nor text—nothing at all.

 _Someone said, oh no  
They saw I had another girl_

It was exactly two months since Harold received the text but he never can get over that picture still. Today supposedly, he and his friends was gonna meet up over lunch but things went to into a different turn and he and Alma came face to face—something that he was hoping to avoid but compelling inside was the unstoppable urge to hug her and never let her go. She looked at him grimly and cringes as Harold called her by her nickname he used to call her.

"Astrid, if you would please—"

"Congratulations" she said.

Harold rose a brow, his confusion slowly rising at the suspicious word she sprung out on him. He stayed quiet, pondering over the word and patiently waited for her to explain what it meant. Alma huffed in frustration and crossed her arms, "For your new girlfriend, of course" she barked.

"What?"

"Oh God, don't do that shit or I'll end up punching that goddamn face of yours" Alma growled.

 _She's not even that special_

Harold took a few more seconds before it had hit him. She must've seen him with the ludicrously annoying neighbour of his who has been trying to get his attention for years. Exactly a month ago when Harold took out his laundry, she followed him to the laundry shop and they engaged on a short conversation until she tackled him to the wall and attempted to kiss him. The memory was so explicit to his disgust that he gagged as he remembered that event, then again, Alma saw wrong and he was now committed to clear that matter up, even if it takes a good beating from her.

 _I bet my all  
That that's never happened before_

He took her to a café to calm her down, bought the girl a cup of coffee and cleared things up with her. Harold straightforwardly told the neighbour that never can they date and never will he be replacing Alma with anyone. The girl was reduced to tears but nonetheless, she gave out a nod and a sad smile, wishing him the best of life and he wished hers too. After about a week, Harold received word that his neighbour, which name he learned was Lindsey, was leaving the building and moving to the neighbouring state because of job matters—but Harold deduced that it was her excuse to get away from him.

 _Maybe she wished you and I would break up  
I'm sure she was just a friend  
There's no way that happened_

That girl had a long history with them. She was envious of Alma and her relationship with Harold and had numerous attempts to get in between but every attempt ended up with her being so devastated and the golden couple ended up growing stronger and finally, hearing that these two broke up sent her to an unending fit of joy and laughter. Lindsey Cho, a girl with a long line of Korean descent, kept repeating Pacify Her and Strange Love in her stereo whilst dancing with joy. Lindsey watched him as he wallowed about Alma and wished to comfort him and take the time to slowly captivate him but she had the uncontrollable pulse of adrenaline and desperation and tackled Harold without his consent and attempted to kiss him.

In all honesty, Harold never liked her and never will he consider her a friend. Alma however, was not aware of this Lindsey girl and kept living her life without knowing her and Harold was thankful that Alma never knew her—he'd never let her meet that jinxed up girl. It surprised him though that she came down with that simple straightforward message—maybe, he thought, that he should have done that before so she would stop. He was under the impression of the "stubborn-stalker-girl" cliché about her but he saw that he was wrong and cursed himself for it.

 _What do I do? I can't acknowledge this  
How you easily forgot me and are so happy_

All Alma knew was that Harold was the devastated man who she broke up with but was so surprised to find him seeing someone else about four months after the broke up. She has to admit that that was a fairly long time for the pain of the heart to cease, even just a bit but still, her eyes couldn't believe her still. It was a tiring day at work and all she wanted was a cup of iced coffee and headed to the nearest café and surprisingly found Harold talking with another girl which she had recognized was from his apartment building.

" _Before you leave me, please think twice!"_

Maybe that was what he meant about those words. She remembered them so clearly in her head. It was that day they broke up and she was about to walk out when he shouted those words but she didn't stop and left in the pouring rain—the usual cliché, but nevertheless, never ceased to affect hurt lovers everywhere. She regrets leaving and if she only had known that this was what it was leading to, she wished having gone back and reconsider giving themselves another chance to make up for their misunderstanding.

He had another lover waiting and it was up to her if they'll continue their relationship and let the girl get lost or break up and let the other girl have her chance—at least that was the conclusion in her head. She was crazy for thinking such things and it was so cringe-worthy and so not like her at all—she hated herself for that but it was just the idea popping inside her head and of course she can never prevent her mind to making up its own conclusion—it was her mind!

As such, this disastrous day, outlandish timing and a mishap continues to disgust them both.

* * *

 **Yeah, I'm a sucker for angst and post-break up fics. This has a part two.**

 **I tried fitting the whole song but I have cut it because it was getting long and I know we don't want chapters that are too long. Also, I'm aiming every chapter hits only a 3k word max, no more.**

 **RUMOR is another Korean song added to list and is sung by the co-ed group K.A.R.D. The lyrics captivated me most and it motivated me to make a one shot about it—actually it's now a two-shot.**

 **Where are my K.A.R.D stans at? C &M and BMin FTW!**


	6. RUMOR (P2)

_It's too cruel, you're a cruel man  
I never knew this till now, I've been deceived_

So this is what it was all about. Alma thought. She glared at every person that sat with her who had these ludicrous smiles on their faces. There, she sat on the table she so much wanted to get away from. Her conversation with Harold ended about half an hour ago when Felix and Heather entered the restaurant and never did they uttered another single word to each other after it. Alma eyed her friends, cursing them to their soul and finally lets out a sigh. Rafaela noticed her unlikely behaviour and tapped her cheek, releasing her from her train of curses surging through their inner core. Alma looked at Rafaela, quickly erasing the outraged look on her face and noticed as she bobbed her head from across her direction, trying to get her to acknowledge the man who sat on the other side—but hell no, she ain't greeting that son of a bitch.

Heather nudged her and her face grew sour and muttered another curse. She tried avoiding his face but somehow, Alma was aware that he was looking at her. She could feel his eyes piercing through her soul, but then again, she disregarded the thought—acting as if he didn't exist there and focused all her attention on her annoying friends bickering about the damnest things and tried surviving throughout the lunch gathering her friends had set up.

Heather tried her best, Felix tried also to fix them both but Harold and Alma couldn't have it during those months. Harold thought Alma was with another and Alma was under the impression that he was angry at her for leaving him over such a thing as a huge misunderstanding. It was always, at the end of the day, the two were hurt and remorseful, longing to have each other back but rumor after rumor started to pile up against them both and can they bring themselves to neither talk nor see each other to try and clear things up.

 _I thought I would feel nothing  
I thought I completely forgot you_

Alma can never have it also. She knew that a guy like him can never deserve someone as low and as bitchy as her. Thinking herself as above that overwhelming feeling of love, she put a face of great snarky attitude but nevertheless can she deny she was falling for Harold back then. He was different from the boys he had met—most probably is that she wanted to throw a chair at their faces, much to the chagrin of Trevor but when it comes to Harold, she'd always limit herself to a punch which was a sign for Heather and Rafaela to suspect that she finally liked somebody. She was always known to be rude, sarcastic and was considered to be such a rebellious girl—even Rafaela couldn't quite keep up with her attitude and she has been with her the longest.

It was a night in which Alma comes over at Harold's apartment after a long week of work. It was their tradition to meet every Friday at his apartment or sometimes, he would fetch her directly from work and would buy food and take a quiet stroll on the nearby park. To her bad luck, Harold was demoted by his boss when he failed to submit his monthly reports and it wasn't his fault, to his defense but there was nothing that could be changed and he was already replaced by his co-worker to take the Head of Marketing position. She barged in and saw him drinking a few cans of beer and scolded him for it but as fuming his mood was, he replied with a scowl, commenting on how loud and bitchy she was.

The argument led itself until they have spoken things that they knew they didn't mean. Alma can be quiet a bitch and she took it too far with the range of her angered emotions but she didn't knew what kind of day Harold had and he knew her personality and her tendency to scold him but he should've left those grudges back at the office and at least told her what happened but no, his excessive drinking brought him to insult her and her being.

" _You bitch, could you shut the fuck up for once and let me by myself? Jesus, you're too loud"_

" _Bastard, for once in my life I'm deeply concerned about you and this is what you're gonna say? That I should shut up? You fucked up man better get your head together"_

" _Shut up! If you're just gonna bitch about then why don't you leave? Seriously, why the hell did I fall for you?"_

That line struck her like an arrow to the heart, killing her deeply inside. He was drunk—she knew that, but it still hurt her and it was enough for her to slam the apartment door and cry in her car. She couldn't leave, not with that condition and it was pouring hard. She kept thrashing inside the car, beating the poor steering wheel and the car accidentally honked, jolting her. Alma quickly ran out of the car and the rain soaked her, hiding her tears which fell continuously down her cheeks. Leaning on the car door, she began to recall the events back at the apartment and kicked the nearby trash can in her anger.

Rage engulfed her head and it clouded her mind, ignoring the fact that she could get sick the more she gets soaked in the rain and that she looked like a crazed woman beating the trash can because of her anger. At first, these words didn't scare her—that she could handle it fine and reply something even bitchier but she was wrong and fooled around with love that left her thrashing her anger like that. She thought that love was such an easy game and she could be a great player but the game turned on her and she was played and fell into a trap deeper. Her anger grew worse but managed to stop thrashing the trash can and let herself lean onto the car, kneeling down as she could hold herself any longer. She could even still hear Harold's voice when he called her at the parking lot, begging her to take shelter but she kept still onto her place until he ran into the rain to fetch her but she didn't move.

She thought it was easy—but loving someone like that, despite her attitude, was something she could never escape from. Her mind was twisting around him and how idiotic she was for leaving him but, if someone did shouted at her like that, she could've thrown that person through the window and with God's mercy will that person need to manage staying alive. Then again, Harold was different. She could never hurt him but never did she expect him to hurt her—the boy who was so in love with her for God knows how long and even begged her to give him a chance, not only once but thrice.

 _There's no way, this doesn't make sense  
I wanna believe that they saw wrong_

She regrets it all. She was on the losing end this time—the one thing Alma can never accept. She had already accepted her mistake and she's remorseful for the things she'd done but the damage always trailed down behind her, haunting her up until the present reducing her to tears she never thought she still have after all that crying almost every night. Every night felt emptier and lonelier than the last and somehow, she'd end up praying that they'd have the chance to talk again but with every chance she got to contact him, she'd always chickened out, ending up having to wait for him to take the first move.

Her sorrow became anger. Seeing that girl with Harold drove her mad and her appetite for coffee and her mood withered away to ashes and at first jealousy overwhelmed her but eventually it turned to anger—anger to herself and to him. Once it all processed in her mind, she was angry at him for replacing her that quickly but she was more angry to herself for letting him go and not give themselves another chance. They never had a fight before, just excessive bickering, but never to the point that they'll curse and bawl at each other and Alma gave up the first time around and didn't even think twice about leaving him but ended up longing for his embrace and comforting words again.

 _Things I hear from around me  
Are they all true?_

"Harold, why didn't you tell me you got demoted in your job?"

Felix's words took the attention of the others who were having a quiet conversation. Alma and Heather furrowed their brows, alarming Harold of his situation and tried dismissing the topic but Heather pushed on, showing her worry towards her friend. Harold, finally giving up, sighed and stooped his head down low, trying to hide the shame in his face, "It was about four months ago—"

"You kept it for that long?!" Trevor exclaimed.

"You wanna hear the story or not?" Harold snarled.

Trevor whispered an apology and urged Harold to continue, "I failed to comply with the monthly report since the company had a shortcoming and our investor pulled out on us and the department had to find a way to boost the sales to make up for the loss but we had failed primarily and suddenly I got a notice that I got demoted—almost fired, to be exact but the board looked into my contributions and decided to just get me demoted"

"It wasn't your fault" was all Heather could say.

"It was my dream job and they just decided to take it away from me" Harold stifled a small laugh and stop his tears to even compel from his eyes.

"How are you holding up?" Alma asked.

Harold widened his eyes, surprised to hear Alma ask him a question or generally, talked to him after four months. He raised his head to face Alma and saw the worry in her eyes making him vulnerable yet again but managed to stop himself from shedding a tear and nodded, "I'm good, thank you for asking" he said, "The company is still in a state of dilemma—good thing I ain't head of Marketing anymore"

 _It's true, true_

"It was that night, right?"

Shortly after the lunch meeting, Alma followed Harold and stopped him on the apartment gate, surprising him but as soon as he saw her face, he lightened up and released a sad smile, "Yeah"

It was quiet after. None dared said a word and stood there awkwardly with their hands on their pockets and their heads adverting each other's gaze. The wind blew, ruining Alma's kept and chic straight hair, letting it dance it the breeze, attaining Harold's attention and gazed at her longer than he was supposed to. Alma frantically held her head to contain her hair into place but she hinted Harold's quiet gaze and returned the look making him advert his eyes away.

"Your new girl lives here too, right?" she asked.

 _Look into my eyes and tell me_

Harold furrowed his brows and turned to face her, "You really think I have another girl?" he asked.

Alma was taken aback and kept her mouth hanging open a little and her eyelids were half closed, hiding the tint of embarrassment in her eyes. Of course she doesn't want to believe him that easily and slowly nodded with a taunting expression, "Don't try to test me" she sneered.

 _It's all a lie, I've never done that  
Even though I try so hard  
I can't forget these feelings_

Harold shook his head, bewilderment overcame him and chuckled along with Alma. He was actually relieved that she was calm and not a sassy bitch or he'll have a hard time to take her back. It was actually the rare times that Alma was not her usual cold personality and he was always blessed every time she was calm and it was those times where he could be more of a romantic towards her. His mood lightened up when he heard her laugh and felt his system malfunctioning for a few moments and appreciate her flirtatious laughter which provokes him to snake his arms around her and kiss her till oblivion but those play on situation in his head would have to wait or just remain in his head.

"No it's true, I have no other girl" Harold acclaimed.

"Not even your mother?" Alma raised a brow.

Shit. Harold cursed out loud in his head. Alma became the sarcasm queen yet again. Harold would've laughed but now was not the applicable time and he needed to finish what he set out to do. He let out a glare at her, something rare but it didn't bother Alma who kept provoking him with insolent words after another. The fire inside has been lit again and he was trying to suppress the flames but he couldn't deny that it was getting bigger and the sparks were injecting in his nerves, deeply provoking him but he kept restraining himself.

"You really don't have another girl?" Alma snarled.

"No, I don't" Harold replied, "I only loved you and you only—"

"But that doesn't mean you didn't have another girl" Alma intervened, a smirk tugging on her lips, "You have your mother and sister, other than that, of course you love your other female relatives"

"I meant, a love that isn't family bound or even friendship bound, but love as in true love" Harold explained, "And FYI, it's not just me who found another"

The statement took Alma a few seconds to process but before she respond with other sarcastic remark, Harold grabbed his phone and showed a picture of her with another man that was sent to him two months before by Erik. Alma analyzed the photo and her brows raised and she stifled a sassy laugh which baffled Harold.

 _To leave my phone background  
As an old photo of us  
It's a waste of real love_

"That's me and my cousin" she said, "Erik is such an ass, honestly"

"No, I don't believe that" Harold said, retracting the phone back and studied the photo once more.

"That's my cousin, on my father's side" Alma explained, "You should never believe anything Erik ever says or what he tries to acclaim, and you know how wild his accusations are"

Harold swore he could kill Erik that instant. Putting those depressing thoughts in his head and letting him suffer deeper for two straight months without even concluding who that man really was and assumed that he was a new lover and that she was a player. Harold cursed himself also for thinking such things about Alma—his beloved Alma. He stared at Alma who was snickering at him and felt too embarrassed and bowed his head to hide it. How he wished to have Alma's calm and sassy composure and cover the embarrassment with a sarcastic remark but he wasn't blessed with it and was forced to live through with the feeling.

"But if you want to, then I could say that he can be a new man in my life" Alma snickered, "He's a great dancer also and he was popular with girls during his school days—it's the perfect misdirect right—"

 _It's so hard, pretending to be alright_

That's when Alma let go of her tears that she trying so hard to restrain inside. She was surprised as Harold suddenly crashed his lips onto hers and held her in place so she can't pull away. Her body was surging with uncontrollable emotions and the tears didn't stop flowing and Harold felt the salty tears trickling down his cheek and pulled away, surprised to see Alma crying. He suddenly let go of her and wiped the tears off her face and when she tried to speak, he shushed her, stopping her from saying anymore nonsense.

"Harold… I'm sorry" she whimpered, "I gave up too early and left you… of course, I love you and I can never ever leave you"

Leaping for joy wasn't enough and neither was a loud cry of happiness nor could kissing her repeatedly ever compare with hearing her declaring those three words, Harold thought. He was well aware that Alma scarcely told him those words and the last he remembered her saying it was when they had their 1st anniversary which was a long time since they were two years into their relationship and to Harold, it was such a joy to hear her still feel the same as he did.

"I regret it all… I should've just asked you what was wrong that night rather than shouting at you just like that" Alma cried, "I never should've said those things. I'm so sorry…"

Harold couldn't help it also. She was crying and sooner, he was too but he relieved himself by holding her close which also comforted Alma who ceased whimpering a few moments later. He soothed her with running circles in her back and stopped only to wipe his own tears which still continued to trickle down. He said nothing but there was nothing to be said—they were finding their way back to each other again.

 _According to my friends  
You already found someone new_

"I thought you already found someone new" Harold chuckled, "Seems like I was so wrong. I promise to kill Erik the next time I saw him"

"I found you one time in a café with a new girl—"

"You don't need to know her" Harold intervened, "I actually kept her away from you since she was trying to break our relationship for a long time"

Alma pulled away and stared at Harold with a disgruntled look on her face which made Harold panic. She wiped her tears away and crossed her arms which made him more anxious and scratched his neck, trying to find the words to soothe her. He began to thump his foot, indicating that he was nervous and Alma noted his stance but eyed him carefully, "There was such girl…" she trailed off, "And you didn't let me bitch her off"

Harold swore he could never love this girl anymore than he loves her now. He immediately let out a laugh which irritated Alma who kept her glare on him but he didn't gave a care and kissed her the girl again but she couldn't have it and moved away and her brows were tightly furrowed which put a blush on Harold as he have always thought an angry Alma was the cutest.

"That was what I was afraid of" Harold replied, "I know that you are the most bitchiest girl and she might not make it out alive when face to face with you—I don't like fights, you know that"

 _Will you tell me it's not too late?  
Please, give me one more chance_

"But she was trying to break our relationship" Alma whined.

"We are not in a relationship" Harold bluntly replied.

Alma closed her mouth shut and the look in her eyes states that she was panicking and she can't sass her way out of that one. Harold loved that embarrassed face she was making and never have he seen that face before and so he was taking it onto account as he might not see that face again. Alma threatened to punch Harold and he only mocked her but ended up receiving the punch anyway, but he would be lying if he wasn't used to her punches.

"Then we are not in a relationship" Alma barked, "If that's what you want, then fine. We are not in a relationship"

"But will you give me another chance?"

 _Where U at my love  
Where U at my love  
You know, I can't go on if it's not you_

Alma stopped her hysterical chatter and her eyes shifted back at Harold who was patiently waiting for her answer. She began pondering about her decision but as his eyes penetrated through her soul and felt as if those piercing eyes were manipulating her brain, her mind was clouded with the thought of him and how badly she missed him and gave a 'yes' with haste. She wasn't able to comprehend what just happened or what she just said when Harold tackled her into another kiss and this time she responded back, "I love you too much too" Harold mumbled.


End file.
